The tragic deaths of three civil services aspirants at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in West Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar sparked a heated debate in Parliament on Monday, with the Treasury and Opposition benches exchanging accusations.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs established a high-level committee to investigate the incident and determine the cause of the flood that took place in the basement of the study center, where the three students lost their lives over the weekend.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed a short discussion after Question Time. BJP MPs blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government, while the AAP and the Opposition INDIA bloc targeted the Centre.
Dhankhar compared the culture of coaching centres to a “gas chamber” and stressed the need to examine their large expenditure on newspaper advertisements. He said the country’s youth demographic dividend must be nurtured and noted that coaching has become more like a business. He also pointed out the high earnings of coaching centres, which lead to the commercialisation of education.
“Coachings have become a flourishing industry with high returns… every time we read a newspaper, front one or two pages are by way of advertisements… Every penny spent on advertisement is coming from the students, every new building is coming from the students,” he said.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar participated in the discussion. Pradhan stated that while education is on the Concurrent List, states cannot avoid their responsibility in cracking down on illegal coaching institutes.
He informed the House that the Centre had issued directives to all states in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2024 for regulating coaching institutes. These directives aimed at registering the institutes and setting minimum standards they must follow. The directives also urged states to monitor the functioning of coaching institutes and penalise them for any lapses.
“The Centre has sent an advisory to all states about coaching centres. If that was followed, this incident would not have happened. It is the state’s responsibility. You cannot shirk the responsibility,” Pradhan said, adding, “We must pin responsibility to prevent such incidents from recurring.”
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a committee to investigate the reasons, assign responsibility, suggest measures, and recommend policy changes. The panel includes the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Principal Secretary (Home) of the Delhi Government, the Special CP of Delhi Police, and the Fire Advisor, with the Joint Secretary of MHA serving as its convener. The committee is required to submit its report within 30 days.